BRUSSELS, July 13 (Reuters) - Anheuser-Busch InBev,
which will soon make almost 30 percent of the world's beer,
wants to serve more low and alcohol-free brews to drinkers
trying to live a healthier lifestyle.

The Belgium-based brewer, on the verge of buying its largest
rival SABMiller, has forecast lower and zero strength
beer will grow from a small base to make up 20 percent of its
sales by the end of 2025.

That is a bold target. Industry monitor Plato Logic says
beer of up to 2.8 percent alcohol by volume (abv) had only a
modest 2.5 percent share in 2014, although annual growth was 4-6
percent versus just one percent for beer as a whole.

Brewers pioneered non-alcoholic beer in the 1980s and 1990s,
with only limited success. This time they believe they have two
game-changers -- sustainable consumer demand and a product that
actually tastes like regular beer.

AB InBev, best known for its Budweiser, Stella Artois and
Corona brands, has committed $1 billion to reducing alcohol
abuse, with pilot projects to start in six cities later this
year. It will spend far more than that on developing new low
alcohol products of up to 3.5 percent, or "no-alcohol" products
of 0.5 percent and lower.
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